Alpha Chi Omega wins PikeStruction

Cans of tomato soup, mixed fruit, peas and noodles helped Alpha Chi Omega win the first ever PikeStruction event in Dede I Monday night. The women built a castle while members of Gamma Phi Beta sorority, the only other competitor in this first-ever Pi Kappa Alpha philanthropy event, built a house complete with a swimming pool. The fraternity raised about 450 cans of food for local charities and $100 for the American Cancer Society, said event organizer John Link, a Pi Kappa Alpha and senior elementary education major. "There are many people in our own country who are hungry," Link said. "We're making a difference in our community." Teams, of which there were to be four, brought their own canned goods to build with. However, only two of the four teams that paid the entry fee, showed up. "This is a building year," Link said. "Hopefully it can be huge in the future." Link first learned of the event at a leadership conference in Kansas City. "We're putting a unique twist on canned food drives," he said. He said some people asked him why the fraternity didn't plan the event for the Thanksgiving holiday. "Sometimes people tend to forget about Christmas," he said. Throughout the one-hour competition, members of Pi Kappa Alpha wandered between the tables, offering advice and help to the two teams. Fraternity member Mike Suter, junior management information systems major, said, "We're here to oversee construction and clarify any rules." Amber Spoto, a sophomore social work major, said Gamma Phi Beta -the sorority she was there to represent- had a collection within itself. Six of the sisters showed up to build. Nine of the Alpha Chi Omega sisters came to build their castle, which won them a plaque, to be awarded by Pi Kappa Alpha at a later date. Teams were judged on a point scale in categories such as teamwork, creativity, the number of cans they brought, height of the construction, best design and best use of materials. Some of those materials included many individual granola bars donated by one Alpha Chi Omega member. Brittany Curry, an Alpha Chi Omega member and junior recreation sports management major, said the group came in with an idea of what the team wanted to do. She said she was ecstatic after the judges announced her sorority won. ISU communications instructor Angela Vitosky, Student Government Association Vice President Ashley Krebbs and Indiana Statesman Editor in Chief Matt Chico served as judges for the event. "I think this is just so wonderful that all this food is going to charity," Vitosky said.